The Science Of Toasted Cheese Sandwiches
by Shenandoah76209
Summary: It's not an easy thing to create the perfect toasted cheese sandwich. But a Crown Prince should always persevere, right? Luckily his wife wasn't raised by the nobility and she'll help him with this dilemma. It's a good thing. They'd starve otherwise. Just a silly little fic from before Amon and Sabine's children were born, before they became the rulers of Cormyr.


**The Science of Toasted Cheese Sandwiches**

Sabine stood still in the doorway of the great palace kitchen and regarded her husband. The prince of Cormyr was surrounded by thick loaves of bread, wheels of cheese and various kitchen implements, mostly sharp ones though he seemed to have thrown in a few pointy items for variety.

The recently made princess watched Amon for a few minutes more and finally with an inward shrug gave in to her curiosity and asked the question that was burning on her tongue. "Amon, what in the world are you doing?"

The prince started slightly in his chair turning to regard his wife. "Trying to figure this out." He gestured towards the fireplace and Sabine saw he held a two prong fork out to the fire, a sandwich of dripping cheese skewered upon it.

"Figure out what exactly?" Sabine wondered. "How much cheese it takes to extinguish a kitchen fire?"

Amon grimaced in appreciation of her comment's accuracy. Currently there seemed to be more cheese sizzling upon the hearth than between the pieces of bread. "But they call this a toasting fork." He protested.

"Yes, if you're going to make toast." Sabine pointed out. "That fork is just to hold bread close to the fire. To make one piece of toast at a time." She looked around. "There should be a toast rack around somewhere…"

After a bit of searching the two of them found the toast rack but discovered it also would fail to serve the purpose of toasted cheese sandwich making. Sabine regarded the toast rack with a frown. "It only holds single pieces and we'd have to slice the bread too thin if we wanted to fit a sandwich in," she pointed out. "Then the cheese would overwhelm the bread."

Amon shook his head. "That won't work." He looked around for something else. "Maybe a pan?" He suggested. "If we hold it over the fire?"

Sabine tilted her head consideringly. "Maybe…but moisture would build up between the bread and the pan…the bottom wouldn't toast, it would dampen and then burn I think."

Amon considered the pan for a moment. "A corrugated pan?" He offered. "One the cooks use for bacon or sausages? It has those rivulets to drain away the grease. That might work."

"We're definitely on the right track." Sabine nodded. "Let's try it."

Several minutes later the duo discovered that the corrugated pan did work up to a point. When they tried to flip the sandwich over to toast both sides, the sandwich nearly came apart and some of the cheese dripped and began to burn.

Amon regarded the less than perfect sandwich with a discouraged frown. "I don't think we're going to get this tonight." He said unhappily. "I really wanted to make some for us to have as a snack tonight. And then I'd know how to make them all the time."

Sabine wrapped her arms around his waist, snuggled up to his back and rested her chin upon his shoulder. "We'll figure it out. There's a science to it." She said encouragingly. "We want something to let the air in to the bread, but for the bread to not stick and the cheese not melt or drip. So it has to be something we can hold over the fire, but not pierce the sandwich. And it has to hold the sandwich together somehow."

"Maybe one of those things the chef uses when he broils stuff?" Amon mused.

Sabine's eye fell upon the grilling tools and she let out a triumphant shout. "Yes!" She hurried towards the wall where the black ironware hung and pulled down a deceptively simple looking tool. "It's for fish." She explained as she brought it back to her husband. "Fish is too delicate to spit but it's wonderful over a fire. This holds the shape of it so it doesn't flake apart and fall into the flames.

It was an odd looking tool, reminding the prince of a book with a latch on one side and a handle on the other. The 'covers' of the book were black iron with circular holes cut through where one would be able to see the delicate flesh of the fish cooking.

Excitedly the two of them fell to cutting bread and cheese, falling into a brief argument over who got to make a trial of the tool, and settled the manner by Amon flipping a coin. He won the toss, which had his wife giving him a brief pout before she began to set up the makings for another sandwich.

"Haha!" Amon nearly chortled with glee as the sandwich remained safely encased, the bread turning deliciously golden and the gooey cheese just beginning to show on the sides as he pulled it away from the fire. "Taste it!" He demanded.

"Let me cut it, we'll each have half." Sabine produced a kitchen knife and quickly divided the result of their labors.

For a moment all was silent in the kitchen but for appreciative chewing. Finally Amon looked at his wife and grinned. Swallowing before he spoke, the prince wondered. "How long do you think it will take it to clean all this up?"

Sabine looked around the mess they'd made of the royal kitchens and gave him a wicked grin along with a sensual shrug. "I guess it'll take us about as long as it would to toast three more sandwiches."

"Who'd have thought there would be such a science to it?" Amon shook his head as he began to put another sandwich in their toaster.

"Presumably the genius who thought them up in the first place." Sabine grinned as she began to put away the experimental kitchenware. "But whoever it was, he or she deserves a Dukedom at least."

"We'll have to remember this…" Amon smiled at her lovingly as he carefully rotated the sandwich. "We can teach our children the secret science of toasted cheese sandwiches."

Sabine smiled her agreement. "That my prince, is something I will look forward to." She sat down on the bench next to him and held out her hand for the toaster. "Are you going to let me have a turn playing with it?" She teased.

"I don't know Sabine," Amon frowned as if serious. "This is solemn work, very meticulous…"

Sabine began giggling. "No doubt you'll tell the children that too, so you can have all the fun yourself."

"This is hard work!" Amon protested, barely concealing his smile. "If its not done exactly right…"

"Its not a toasted cheese sandwich." He and Sabine spoke together and their laughter rang through the kitchen as they began to divide their second sticky treat.

**_Fin_**

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_Author's Note: Something a little silly with Amon and Sabine before they had children. They weren't always the king and queen. Once they were simply the Crown Prince and his Princess, wanting a midnight snack._


End file.
